Fabric having a backing material for a covering for an architectural opening

ABSTRACT

An architectural covering with an operable vane having a fabric backing is provided. The vane may include a vane fabric and a backing material connected to the vane fabric by a layer of adhesive. The backing material may increase a machine-direction stiffness of the vane while slightly affecting a cross-direction stiffness of the vane. As such, the vane may have increased stiffness in its machine direction while simultaneously remaining flexible in its cross direction.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is based upon and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/185,326, filed on Jun. 26,2015, and claims priority to PCT application No. PCT/US2016/039335,filed on Jun. 24, 2016 which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to coverings for architecturalopenings, and more specifically to a fabric having a backing materialfor a covering for an architectural opening.

BACKGROUND

Coverings for architectural openings, such as windows, doors, archways,and the like, have taken numerous forms for many years. The fabrics usedfor the coverings have presented various challenges associated with agiven operation of the covering. Generally, it is desirable for thefabric of the covering to present an aesthetically pleasing appearance.For instance, it may be desirable for the covering to have a generallyuniform contour, without undulations, puckering, or other contourirregularities caused by the manner in which the fabric is falling,lays, or otherwise hangs in position (in contrast with surface textureor other features of the fabric itself). Different coverings operate indifferent manners which move the fabric forming the covering elementinto extended or retracted positions (respectively covering oruncovering the architectural opening) in different manners. Forinstance, different coverings fold the fabric of the covering elementalong a given direction to retract the covering. More particularly, somecoverings include operable vanes that are movable between open andclosed positions. Current trends demand the use of fabrics notpreviously used in vane construction (e.g., lightly woven fabrics andfabric constructions that have an inherent high level of drape or otherphysical characteristics not amenable to the operable vane or a desiredend use). Current manufacturing methods for making operable vanes ofthese desired fabrics have not proven sufficient to provide aconsistent, preferably smooth appearance of the vane. For example, somevanes have inherent physical properties that offer poor support foruniformity and flatness in appearance. This creates a vane appearance,with creases, puckering or other undesirable non-uniform undulations andcan increase the risk of significant capital investment in anunsuccessful product, and may lead to reduced quality and/or marketshare of the covering.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure generally provides a fabric that has a backing sothat the backed fabric offers improvements or an alternative to existingarrangements of the fabric of the shade portion of a covering for anarchitectural opening (herein “architectural opening covering” for thesake of convenience without intent to limit). More particularly, thepresent disclosure generally provides a fabric with a backing coupledthereto to modify the stiffness of the fabric along at least a firstdirection of the fabric to facilitate use of the fabric in a selectedshade configuration. In one embodiment, the backing modifies thestiffness of the fabric to permit bending of the fabric about a firstaxis more readily than about a second axis perpendicular to the firstaxis. The backing may or may not modify the stiffness about the secondaxis.

In one embodiment, the fabric may be used to form an architecturalopening covering having a shade employing movable vanes. The vanesformed in accordance with principles of the present invention include anouter fabric and an inner backing material connected together. Thebacking material is designed such that the backing material satisfiesthe stiffness requirements for use in a vane by, for example, increasingthe stiffness of the vane along the length of the vane (extending acrossthe width of the architectural opening covering) while negligiblyaffecting the stiffness of the vane perpendicular to the axis aboutwhich the vane is to bend to open and close the vane to allow viewingthrough the shade. Thus, according to the present disclosure, the vaneis stiffer along its length but remains flexible about its height,thereby providing a flexible vane that has a consistent, preferablysmoothly contoured appearance.

This summary of the disclosure is given to aid understanding, and one ofskill in the art will understand that each of the various aspects andfeatures of the disclosure may advantageously be used separately in someinstances, or in combination with other aspects and features of thedisclosure in other instances. Accordingly, while the disclosure ispresented in terms of embodiments, it should be appreciated thatindividual aspects of any embodiment can be claimed separately or incombination with aspects and features of that embodiment or any otherembodiment.

The present disclosure is set forth in various levels of detail in thisapplication and no limitation as to the scope of the claimed subjectmatter is intended by either the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements,components, or the like in this summary. In certain instances, detailsthat are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosure or thatrender other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. Itshould be understood that the claimed subject matter is not necessarilylimited to the particular embodiments or arrangements illustratedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and,together with the general description above and the detailed descriptionbelow, serve to explain the principles of these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a covering in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a vane of the covering of FIG. 1and in an open configuration in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a vane without a fabric backingand in an open configuration.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the vane of FIG. 2 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, exploded detail view of the vane of FIG. 2 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a comparative view of a vane having a backing material and avane without a backing material in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The two vanes are shown in a flat, or closed,configuration.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a method of manufacturing a vane inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, andis not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentdisclosure.

In the figures that follow, one embodiment of the present disclosure isdescribed that comprises a shade including a support sheet and aplurality of horizontally-extending vanes that can move relative to thesupport sheet. It should be understood, however, that the figures areprovided for purposes of explanation and in no way limit the differentembodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosure, forinstance, is applicable to any suitable window covering product. Forinstance, roman-type shades, honeycomb shades, vertical shades, blinds,and the like, can also be made in accordance with the presentdisclosure. For example, in one embodiment, the present disclosure isdirected to a shade comprised of a cover fabric in conjunction with abacking material in accordance with the present disclosure as describedabove.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of acovering 100 utilizing a backed fabric formed in accordance withprinciples of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the covering 100is shown in a fully-extended, open configuration in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. The illustrative covering 100includes a head rail 102, a bottom rail 104, and a shade 106 extendingbetween the head rail 102 and the bottom rail 104. The illustrativeshade 106 includes a vertically-extending support sheet 108 and aplurality of horizontally-extending vanes 110 connected to the supportsheet 108. The support sheet 108 in the illustrative embodiment of FIG.1 is in the form of a flexible sheet of fabric, which may be of asubstantially rectangular configuration having top and bottom edges 107a, 107 b, and left and right side edges 109 a, 109 b. As shown, thesupport sheet 108, which may be constructed of knit, woven, or nonwovenmaterials of various levels of transparencies, is vertically-suspendedfrom the head rail 102 along its top edge 107 a. In some embodiments,the support sheet 108 may be suspended from a generally cylindricalroller rotatably mounted within the head rail 102 for selectivereversible rotary movement about a horizontal central axis. Thestructure of the roller may allow the shade 106 to be retracted aroundand unwound from the roller as the roller is reversibly rotated. Thestructure from which the shade 106 is suspended, retracted, and extendedmay take on forms other than the roller in the head rail 102 asdescribed above. Attached to the bottom edge 107 b of the support sheet108 is the bottom rail 104, which is an elongate member that may beweighted and generally maintains the shade 106 in a taut condition atits desired level of extension.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, each of the plurality of vanes 110is suspended generally horizontally across a front face 112 of thesupport sheet 108 at vertically-spaced locations such that the length ofthe vane 110 extends along the width W of the shade 106. As shown, eachvane 110 is made from resiliently flexible material or fabric, which maybe light-transmissive or light blocking. In the illustrative embodimentof FIG. 1, each vane 110 includes a first edge 114 (e.g., an upper edge)and a second edge 116 (e.g., a lower edge) opposite the first edge 114.The first edge 114 of each vane 110 is attached to the front face 112 ofthe support sheet 108 across the width W of the support sheet 108 and atvertically-spaced locations such that the plurality of vanes 110 hangsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis L_(HR) of head rail 102.The second edge 116 of each vane 110 hangs freely such that the secondedge 116 of vane 110 is movable relative to the first edge 114 of vane110 along the front face 112 of the support sheet 108. The position ofthe second edge 116 relative to the first edge 114 is variable based onthe desired actuation and aesthetics of each vane 110 as it moves fromits closed to open positions.

In the closed position, each vane 110 is substantially flat andgenerally parallel with the support sheet 108. In the open position,each vane 110 has a substantial teardrop shape cross-section and extendsforwardly of the support sheet 108. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, thevanes 110 may be positioned in any configuration between the fully openand the fully closed configurations to achieve substantially any desiredlight blocking or occluding characteristics of the shade 106. To achievethe desired aesthetic effect when in the closed and/or open positions,each vane 110 includes bending properties in at least two directions, asdescribed below.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the covering 100 includes operatingelements 118 for moving the vanes 110 between open and closed positions.Each operating element 118 extends along the front face 112 of thesupport sheet 108 and is secured at spaced locations along its length tothe second edge 116 of each vane 110 such that if the operating element118 is lifted, the second edge 116 of each vane 110 is liftedsynchronously toward the first edge 114 of each respective vane 110 soas to define a gap between the vanes 110 through which vision and/orlight may pass. Because each vane 110 is made of flexible material orfabric, movement of the second edge 116 towards the first edge 114causes the vane 110 to bend or fold about a vane longitudinal axis L_(v)and/or expand away from the support sheet 108 as shown in FIG. 1, forinstance. Accordingly, transitioning the vanes 110 from a closedposition to an open position causes the cross-section of each vane 110to change from a generally planar configuration in the closed positionto a generally arcuate configuration in the open position. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the operating elements 118 slidablypass between the support sheet 108 and the first edge 114 of each vane110, and in such locations, the first edge 114 is not attached to thesupport sheet 108 to allow the operating elements 118 to move relativelybetween the first edge 114 and the support sheet 108. The operatingelements 118 are shown as monofilament cords but can assume othervarious forms, including but not limited to strips of fabric or othermaterials, cords of synthetic or natural fibers, or other similar forms.The operating elements 118 may have a variety of cross-sections,including circular, oval, rectangular, square, or other geometricshapes. The operating elements 118 need not be attached to every vane110, but instead may be attached to specific vanes 110 that are desiredto be movable between open and closed positions. It will be appreciatedthat instead of passing between the first edge 114 and the support sheet108, the operating elements 118 may pass through the support sheet 108,or through the vane 110.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of thevane 110 in accordance with principles of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 2, the machine direction MD of the fabric used to form thevane 110 is the direction in which the fabric is processed duringassembly. In the illustrative example of FIG. 2, the machine directionMD thus extends along the length of the vane 110 such that when the vane110 is connected to the support sheet 108 as part of the completecovering 100, the machine direction MD extends along the length of thevane 110 and across the width W of the support sheet 108 between theleft and right side edges 109 a, 109 b of the support sheet 108. In theillustrative embodiment, the cross direction XD of the fabric used toform the vane 110 extends transversely to the machine direction MD, andin the illustrative example of FIG. 2, is thus along the height of thevane 110. When the vane 110 is connected to the support sheet 108 aspart of the complete covering 100, the cross direction XD of each vane110 extends vertically between the top and bottom edges 107 a, 107 b ofthe support sheet 108 (and between the first and second edges 114, 116of each vane 110). Although described above as extending along thelength of the vane 110 and across the width W of the support sheet 108,it is contemplated that the machine direction MD of the fabric used toform the vane 110 need not correspond to the length of the vane 110, andcould instead correspond to, for example, the height of the vane 110,depending on the design of the product in which the fabric is used. Inother words, the machine direction MD and the cross direction XD of thefabric used to form the vane 110 may, in other configurations, beoriented substantially perpendicular to respective machine and crossdirections MD_(SS), XD_(SS) of the support sheet 108 (see FIG. 1).

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 2, the stiffness of each vane 110in its machine direction MD and in its cross direction XD is tailored toachieve a desired stiffness characteristic, and thus the desiredaesthetic effect, when the vane 110 is in the closed and/or openpositions. For example, the vane 110 of FIG. 2 has sufficient stiffnessin its machine direction MD (i.e., machine-direction stiffness) toprovide fabric with a contour that has a consistent, preferably smoothappearance throughout the vane 110 to reduce ripples 120 or undulationswithin the vane 110, as explained below (see FIG. 3). Additionally, thestiffness of the vane 110 of FIG. 2 in its cross direction XD (i.e.,cross-direction stiffness) permits the vane 110 to remain flexible forresilient bending of the vane 110 during opening and closing, asdescribed above. In this manner, a greater variety of fabrics may beused to construct the vane 110, including soft hand fabrics notpreviously feasible for use in vane construction. Soft hand fabricsrefer to fabrics that are very flexible and soft to the touch. A softhand fabric may not possess good drape characteristics when incorporatedinto a window covering. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, the vane110 includes an upper tab 122 and a lower tab 124, each optionallydefined by respective upper and lower creases 126, 128 or fold lines.Each tab 122 and 124 preferably folds rearwardly from the front surfaceof the vane. The creases 126, 128 define the first and second edges 114,116 of the vane 110 (see FIG. 2). The upper tab 122 may be used forattaching the first edge 114 of the vane 110 to the support sheet 108.Similarly, the lower tab 124 may be used for attaching the second edge116 of the vane 110 to the operating elements 118 to allow for selectivemovement of the vane 110 between the open and closed configurations. Itwill be appreciated that the tabs 122 and 124 are not a required featureof the vane 110, which may have only one tab or no tabs.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thevane 110′ in accordance with principles of the present disclosure. Insubstantially all respects, the vane 110′ of FIG. 3 is identical to thevane 110 of FIG. 2. However, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the vane 110′does not have sufficient stiffness in its machine direction MD toprovide a fabric that has a contour with a consistent, smooth,appearance throughout as compared to the vane 110 illustrated in FIG. 2.Because of insufficient stiffness in its machine direction MD, the vane110′ of FIG. 3 includes regions of “puckering” or gathering of thefabric to cause ripples 120, undulations, or waviness within the vane110′ (e.g., on a surface of the vane 110′). This “puckering” causesinconsistencies in appearance and performance of the vane 110 and may beundesirable for at least certain applications.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of an illustrative embodiment of thevane 110 of FIG. 2 in accordance with principles of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded view of the vane 110 of FIG.4 in accordance with principles of the present disclosure. As shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the vane 110 includes a fabric 130 and a backing material132 connected to the fabric 130 (e.g., to a rear of the fabric 130) toenhance the desired properties of the fabric 130 in a first direction(e.g., to enhance stiffness along the length of the vane 110 extendingabout the width W of the shade 106 which is not intended to bow or bendor otherwise fold or bend), to reduce or eliminate any unintended orincidental “puckering” or ripples 120 in the vane 110, and to maintainthe desired property of the fabric 130 in a second direction (e.g., tomaintain flexibility of the vane about the bending axis of the vane sothat the vane readily bends into an open or closed configuration asdesired).

The vane 110 may be formed as a laminate structure of the fabric 130 andthe backing material 132 (and adhesive), and may alternatively bereferenced as a “vane laminate.” The fabric 130, which may be referredto as a vane fabric, an outer fabric, a fabric material portion, or afirst material, and the backing material 132 may be connected togetherby a layer of adhesive 134 (e.g., a thermoplastic adhesive) positionedbetween the fabric 130 and the backing material 132. Many differenttypes and structures of adhesive 134 can be used, which can be appliedby spray, gravure, roll coating, die cast extrusion, or by any othersuitable manner. Selection of adhesive type and/or structure dependsupon the desired characteristics and/or properties of the formed vane110. For example without limitation, a crosslinking adhesive may be usedfor high temperature end use applications, and a thermoplastic adhesivemay be selected for moderate temperature end use applications. In eachof the embodiments described herein, the adhesive 134 may or may not berelatively inert to the physical characteristics (e.g., stiffness) ofthe vane laminate. In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, thelayer of adhesive 134 is a melt blown adhesive sprayed onto the webstructure of at least one of the fabric 130 and the backing material 132and solidifies with little to no shrinkage. Although FIGS. 4 and 5depict the layer of adhesive 134 as a continuous layer (in bothcross-section and along its length), the layer of adhesive 134 may be adiscontinuous web or dot structure. In such embodiments, a section viewof the layer of adhesive 134 may appear discontinuous or continuousdepending on the section line. In certain embodiments, the type ofadhesive used, the manner in which the adhesive is applied, and theamount of adhesive applied in between the backing material in the fabriccan further influence the stiffness properties, particularly thestiffness ratio, of the resulting laminate. For example, in oneembodiment, the adhesive can also be applied in a unidirectional mannerthat cooperates with the backing material in increasing the stiffnessratio. In one embodiment, the adhesive may be applied as fibers orfilaments. For instance, unidirectionally oriented meltblown fibers maybe used as the adhesive.

Applying the adhesive in a discontinuous manner may, in someembodiments, better preserve the flexibility of the resulting laminate.For example, as described above, the adhesive may be applied in adiscontinuous pattern, such as a dot pattern. In this embodiment, theadhesive may cover less than 80%, such as less than about 70%, such asless than about 60%, such as less than about 50%, such as less thanabout 40%, such as less than about 30% of the surface area of thefabric. The adhesive generally covers greater than about 10% of thesurface area, such as greater than about 20% of the surface area, suchas greater than about 30% of the surface area.

According to the present disclosure, almost any type of fabric 130,particularly fabrics with a soft hand, regardless of its inherentproperties, may be used for a desired purpose (e.g., any of a variety ofshades 106 or vanes 110 with different bending and/or drapingrequirements) by application of the backing material 132 thereto tomodify the stiffness (and stabilize elongation to improve manufacturingversatility) of the fabric 130 in the desired manner without otherwisesignificantly affecting the other properties of the fabric 130, such asthickness, weight, and/or light transmissivity of the fabric 130. Thus,the backing material 132 may be applied to a variety of fabrics 130 tomodify the stiffness ratio of the fabric 130 to achieve a desiredflexibility and stiffness characteristics of the laminate for theultimate application and use of the fabric, such as, without limitation,as a vane in a shade. It is contemplated that the backing material 132may modify or enhance, based on its inherent physical properties andapplication, the properties of the fabric 130 in substantially anydirection based on a desired end use of the vane laminate. However, forease of reference and as an illustrative example, the present disclosuredescribes the stiffness and flexibility of the fabric 130 in terms ofmachine direction and cross direction. As noted above, the machinedirection MD and cross direction XD typically correspond, in theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 4, to length and height, respectively,of the fabric 130 used to form the vane 110. It is contemplated,however, that the machine direction and the cross direction of thefabric 130 do not necessarily correspond to the length and height of thevane 110, respectively, when the vane 110 is implemented in the shade106. Thus, it should be appreciated that the specific orientationsdescribed herein (e.g., machine direction and cross direction) are forillustration purposes and for ease of reference and do not define thescope of the present disclosure.

The fabric 130 and the backing material 132 may be made of any suitablematerial, including but not limited to woven or nonwoven fabrics ofnatural or man-made materials, including vinyl, plastic, or other suchmaterials. In the illustrative embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, however,the backing material 132 is a directional nonwoven material, althoughnon-directional woven and nonwoven fabrics or materials are alsocontemplated. The backing material 132, which may be referred to as aninner fabric, a backing material portion, or a second material and maybe sheer, may be formed from a plurality of fiber segments orientedprimarily along the longitudinal axis L_(V) of the vane 110 (i.e., alongthe machine direction MD of the vane 110). In some embodiments, thebacking material 132 may be formed from aligned continuous fibers,yarns, and/or carded, aligned staple fibers that have some fiberoverlapping. Additionally or alternatively, the backing material 132 maybe formed from a plurality of generally parallel rows, each rowincluding a plurality of longitudinal fibers substantially oriented andoverlapping along the row, the rows extending along the longitudinalaxis L_(V) of the vane 110 with little or no cross-linking between therows. Thus, in the illustrative embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, thebacking material 132 may have a “grain” or striated appearance in onedirection (e.g., in the machine direction MD of the vane 110) such thatthe fibers appear to be in a “combed” web structure.

Accordingly, the fiber orientation of the backing material 132 enhancesor increases, sometimes significantly, for instance by multiples, themachine-direction stiffness of the vane 110 about an axis, such as inits machine direction MD. Additionally, because the fibers of thebacking material 132 extend mainly along the machine direction MD of thevane 110, with little cross-linking between rows, the backing material132 maintains as constant and/or slightly affects the cross-directionstiffness of vane 110, thus maintaining the bending properties of thevane 110 in its cross direction XD. In some embodiments, the backingmaterial 132 may be configured with increased cross-linking between rowsto achieve a more equal machine direction to cross direction fiberdistribution such that the vane 110 achieves a desired stiffness tooperate properly for a particular application.

In one embodiment, the backing material 132 comprises a meltspun web ora laminate containing a meltspun web. In accordance with the presentdisclosure, the meltspun web includes fibers that are oriented in onedirection for increasing the stiffness of the material in the directionof orientation. The meltspun web, for instance, may comprise a spunbondweb, a meltblown web, a hydroentangled web, a coform web, and the like.The meltspun web can be made exclusively from continuous filaments, canbe made exclusively from staple fibers, or can be comprised of acombination of continuous filaments combined with staple fibers.

In addition to meltspun webs, the backing material 132 may comprise anyother suitable nonwoven web or laminate. The nonwoven web, for instance,may comprise a wetlaid web, an airlaid web, a bonded carded web, and/ora crosslapped web in which the web contains fibers that have beenunidirectionally oriented.

The backing material 132 can have various different characteristics andproperties depending upon the particular application, as long as thematerial is capable of being adhered to another fabric and includesunidirectionally oriented fibers and/or greater stiffness properties inone direction. For example, in certain embodiments, the backing material132 can have a relatively light basis weight. Using a backing materialwith a relatively light basis weight can provide various advantages andbenefits. For instance, a relatively light basis weight material canprovide the necessary stiffness adjustment to a fabric withoutsignificantly interfering with the opacity characteristics of thefabric. In addition, it was discovered that lightweight basis materialscan dramatically and unexpectedly improve the elongation properties of afabric. When using a relatively light basis weight material, the backingmaterial can have a basis weight of generally less than about 20 gsm,such as less than about 17 gsm, such as less than about 15 gsm, such asless than about 13 gsm, such as less than about 10 gsm, such as lessthan about 8 gsm, such as less than about 5 gsm, such as even less thanabout 3 gsm. The backing material generally has a basis weight greaterthan 1 gsm.

In an alternative embodiment, the backing material can also have arelatively heavy basis weight. For instance, the basis weight of thebacking material can be greater than about 20 gsm, such as greater thanabout 30 gsm, such as greater than about 40 gsm, such as greater thanabout 50 gsm, such as greater than about 60 gsm. The basis weight of thebacking material is generally less than about 150 gsm, such as less thanabout 120 gsm. Heavier basis weight materials may be desired in certainapplications, especially when producing laminates that are designed toblock light.

The backing material 132 can also be produced from various differentfibers and filaments. In one embodiment, for instance, the backingmaterial is made exclusively from synthetic fibers, filaments, or acombination of fiber and filaments. For example, the backing materialcan be made from polyester, a polyolefin such as polyethylene orpolypropylene, an acrylic, or mixtures thereof. The backing material canalso contain other fibers, including cellulose fibers, regeneratedcellulose fibers such as rayon, cotton fibers, and the like.

One example of a suitable backing material 132 includes MILIFE® T-GradeMD-only nonwoven, a 100% polyester nonwoven material manufactured by JXNippon. MILIFE® T-Grade MD-only nonwoven comes in a variety of grades,including T10, which has a basis weight of 10 g/m² and a tensilestrength of 50 N/50 mm. Other fabrics or materials may be utilized forthe backing material 132 depending on the particular application,including fabrics having a variety of ratios between machine directionand cross direction fiber distributions operable to affect the physicalproperties of the vane 110 in a low profile manner.

In an alternative embodiment, the backing material 132 comprises aunidirectionally oriented hydroentangled web. In one embodiment, thehydroentangled web can have a relatively low basis weight such as lessthan about 20 gsm, such as less than about 17 gsm, such as less thanabout 15 gsm, such as less than about 13 gsm, such as less than about 10gsm, such as less than about 8 gsm. The basis weight is generallygreater than about 2 gsm, such as greater than about 5 gsm, such asgreater than about 7 gsm.

In one embodiment, the hydroentangled web is made from a precursor webcomprising a spunbond web made from continuous polymeric filaments. Theprecursor or spunbond web is placed on a foraminous surface andsubjected to the hydroentangling process. Hydroentanglement is affectedby application of high pressure liquid streams to the web. Filaments ofthe web are rearranged on the fabric forming surface of the device. Inone embodiment, the forming surface and the liquid streams act inconjunction to rearrange the filaments of the web and to create aunidirectionally oriented web that has sufficient integrity and strengthfor handling. In order to form the web, filaments can be used having areally low denier. For instance, the filaments can have a denier of lessthan about 3.0, such as less than about 2.5, such as less than about2.0, such as less than about 1.5, such as less than about 1.0, such asless than about 0.8, such as less than about 0.5. The denier of thefilaments is generally greater than about 0.2, such as greater thanabout 0.5, such as greater than about 1.0.

In one embodiment, the spunbond precursor web comprises a web that hasbeen lightly bonded which allows the high pressure fluid streams tobreak or disrupt the bonds without breaking the continuous filaments. Asa consequence, a relatively low basis weight web can be formed made fromsubstantially continuous filaments that have been unidirectionallyoriented. If desired, after hydroentangling, the spunbond andhydroentangled web can be subjected to further bonding processes, suchas thermal bonding.

In an alternative embodiment, a unidirectionally oriented hydroentangledweb may be used as the backing material which comprises two or more websthat have been hydroentangled together. For example, in this embodiment,a unidirectionally oriented nonwoven web can be hydroentangled with oneor more other nonwoven webs to result in a unidirectionally orientedstructure that has sufficient strength and integrity for handling andincorporation into fabric laminates.

The unidirectionally oriented web that is subjected to hydroentanglingcan be made using different processes and techniques. In one embodiment,for instance, the web may comprise a meltspun web, such as a spunbond ormeltblown web, that has been stretched in one direction forunidirectionally orienting the fibers. The nonwoven web can bestretched, for instance, using rollers that operate at different speeds.Alternatively, stretching can occur on a tenter frame. The draw ratio ofthe unidirectionally oriented nonwoven fabric, for instance, can be fromabout 5 to about 20, such as from about 8 to about 12. The nonwoven webcan be made from staple fibers, continuous filaments, or mixturesthereof. The fibers and filaments can have a denier of from about 0.01to about 10, such as from about 0.03 to about 5.

The unidirectionally oriented web is then hydroentangled with at leastone other nonwoven web. The nonwoven web can comprise any suitable fiberweb or nonwoven fabric. For instance, in one embodiment, theunidirectionally oriented web is hydroentangled with a carded web. Thecarded web can be made from staple fibers having any of the denierranges described above. The two webs are then hydroentangled together inorder to produce a nonwoven material not only having unidirectionallyoriented fibers but also having sufficient integrity and strength to belater processed. The resulting nonwoven material can have a basis weightof from about 8 gsm to about 150 gsm. In one embodiment, for instance,the material has a relatively light basis weight of less than about 25gsm, such as less than about 20 gsm, such as less than about 15 gsm,such as less than about 12 gsm, such as less than about 10 gsm. Thebasis weight is generally greater than about 3 gsm, such as greater thanabout 5 gsm.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the backingmaterial 132 may be formed directly on one side of the fabric 130. Forexample, any suitable nonwoven web having unidirectionally orientedfibers or filaments may be applied directly to the fabric 130 inaccordance with the present disclosure. The nonwoven web, for instance,may comprise a spunbond web, a meltblown web, a coform web, or the like.By applying the backing material 132 directly to the fabric 130, thebacking material can have a very low basis weight. For instance, thebacking material 132 can have a basis weight of less than about 15 gsm,such as less than about 12 gsm, such as less than about 10 gsm, such asless than about 8 gsm, such as less than about 5 gsm, such as even lessthan about 3 gsm. In one embodiment, for instance, unidirectionallyoriented fibers, filaments, or mixtures thereof can be applied directlyto the fabric 130 in a manner that produces little to no crossoverpoints that are typically present in nonwoven webs.

The above described backing materials when attached to a fabric are allcapable of adjusting the stiffness of the fabric in one direction. Inparticular, the stiffness is increased in a first direction withoutsignificantly affecting the stiffness in a second and perpendiculardirection. In the figures, the first direction is the machine direction,while the second direction is the cross-direction. It should beunderstood, however, that the stiffness of a fabric can be increased inany suitable direction depending upon the particular application. In theillustrative embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, the ratio between themachine-direction stiffness and the cross-direction stiffness (i.e.,stiffness ratio) of the vane 110 having the backing material 132attached thereto is between about 1.5:1 and about 18:1. In variousembodiments, the stiffness ratio of laminates made according to thepresent disclosure (first direction to second direction) can generallybe greater than about 2:1, such as greater than about 3:1, such asgreater than about 4:1, such as greater than about 6:1, such as greaterthan about 8:1, such as greater than about 10:1, such as greater thanabout 12:1, such as greater than about 14:1. The stiffness ratio isgenerally less than about 50:1, such as less than about 40:1, such asless than about 30:1, such as less than about 20:1. Certain fabrics ormaterials have stiffness ratios within the range mentioned above withoutthe use of the backing material 132. However, the backing material 132can be used on substantially any type of fabric or material, includingbut not limited to densely or lightly wovens or nonwovens, lightweightwoven sheers, lightweight nonwovens, and lightweight knits, to enhanceits respective stiffness ratio. For example, the backing material 132 isnot only able to enhance materials having a poor stiffness ratio, thebacking material 132 may also be used to selectively enhance and supportmaterials that have a desired stiffness ratio but do not have a desiredstiffness in general. For example without limitation, for fabrics 130having a stiffness ratio equal to or greater than 1:1, the backingmaterial 132 may include less machine direction orientation compared toa backing material 132 used for a fabric 130 having a stiffness ratioless than 1:1. Additionally or alternatively, for fabrics 130 having adesired stiffness ratio but lacking stiffness in general, the backingmaterial 132 may be unbiased such that the backing material 132 has anequal machine direction to cross direction fiber distribution (see FIG.5), resulting in a more balanced enhancement of the stiffness of thevane 110 in both its machine direction MD and its cross direction XD.For fabrics having a desired stiffness ratio, the backing material 132may have a relatively light basis weight that may desirably influencethe elongation properties of the fabric without significantly impactingthe opacity of the fabric. For instance, the backing material, in thisembodiment, can have a basis weight of less than about 12 gsm, such asless than about 10 gsm, such as less than about 8 gsm, such as less thanabout 6 gsm, such as less than about 4 gsm. The basis weight of thebacking material is generally greater than about 1 gsm.

Illustrative examples of increases in stiffness ratio with respect tovarious fabrics or materials are shown below in Tables 1-3. The variousfabrics or materials shown in Tables 1-3 below were tested using aHandle-O-Meter testing machine, developed by Johnson & Johnson and nowmanufactured by Thwing-Albert, that measures the combination of surfacefriction and flexibility of sheeted materials (i.e., the handle of thefabric). All of the materials were tested face side down on the testingmachine. Although the various fabrics and materials in Tables 1-3 weretested using a Handle-O-Meter testing machine, any suitable stiffnessmeasurement technique for fabrics would suffice in comparing therelative machine-direction stiffness and cross direction-stiffness ofthe vane 110 so long as the measurement technique is capable ofdistinguishing measurements at least between machine direction and crossdirection.

Table 1 below shows Handle-O-Meter test results using “Polyester WovenA” as the fabric 130. Polyester Woven A is a mid-weight (100 gsm-150gsm), plain weave, 100% polyester, woven construction. In row 1,Polyester Woven A was tested without the backing material 132. In row 2,Polyester Woven A was tested with the backing material 132 appliedthereto. Rows 3-4 illustrate test data of Polyester Woven A with variousconventional backing materials applied thereto for comparison with thebacking material 132. Although Table 1 illustrates test results usingPolyester Woven A, similar results can be achieved for substantially anywoven material whose stiffness ratio is heavily biased towards onedirection (e.g., its cross-direction stiffness).

TABLE 1 “Polyester Woven A” Handle-O-Meter Test Results Machine- Cross-Direction Direction Stiffness Stiffness Stiffness Material Description(Ave.) (Ave.) Ratio 1 Polyester Woven A - without 15.5 46.8 0.33:1backing material 132 2 Polyester Woven A - with 75.2 44.5 1.69:1 backingmaterial 132 3 Polyester Woven A - with 80.6 78.2 1.03:1 20 gsm Unitikaspun bound nonwoven 4 Polyester Woven A - with H&V 69.0 82.0 0.84:1 17gsm smooth calendered nonwoven

Table 2 below shows Handle-O-Meter test results using “Polyester WovenB” as the fabric 130, and shows stiffness testing with and without thebacking material 132 of the present disclosure applied thereto.Polyester Woven B is a heavy-weight (greater than 150 gsm), plain weave,100% polyester, woven construction. In row 1, Polyester Woven B wastested without the backing material 132. In row 2, Polyester Woven B wastested with the backing material 132 applied thereto in accordance withthe present disclosure.

TABLE 2 “Polyester Woven B” Handle-O-Meter Test Results Machine- Cross-Direction Direction Stiffness Stiffness Stiffness Material Description(Ave.) (Ave.) Ratio 1 Polyester Woven B - without 17.6 45.6 0.39:1backing material 132 2 Polyester Woven B - with 84.7 55.1 1.54:1 backingmaterial 132

Table 3 below shows Handle-O-Meter test results using “Polyester WovenC” as the fabric 130, and shows stiffness testing with and without thebacking material 132 of the present disclosure applied thereto.Polyester Woven C is a lightweight (less than 100 gsm), plain weavewoven composed of 100% polyester woven material. In row 1, PolyesterWoven C was tested without the backing material 132. In row 2, PolyesterWoven C was tested with the backing material 132 applied thereto inaccordance with the present disclosure.

TABLE 3 “Polyester Woven C” Handle-O-Meter Test Results Machine- Cross-Direction Direction Stiffness Stiffness Stiffness Material Description(Ave.) (Ave.) Ratio 1 Polyester Woven C - without 13.7 2.2  6.23:1backing material 132 2 Polyester Woven C - with 57.8 3.7 15.62:1 backingmaterial 132

As shown in Tables 1-3 above, the stiffness ratio of each of the testedfabrics or materials was substantially increased through the applicationof the backing material 132 to the fabric 130. In fact, for the testedfabrics or materials, the backing material 132 selectively increases themachine-direction stiffness at least about 1.5 times greater, and morepreferably at least about 2 times greater, and more preferablyapproximately 5 times greater, than the effect of the backing material132 on the cross-direction stiffness. For example, with reference toTable 1, application of the backing material 132 to the Polyester WovenA fabric 130 resulted in an approximate 5% decrease in cross-directionstiffness but also an approximate 385% increase in machine-directionstiffness, or an approximate 77 times greater effect on themachine-direction stiffness than the effect on the cross-directionstiffness of the vane 110. Similar results are shown in Table 2, whichprovides an approximate 18 times greater effect on the machine-directionstiffness than the effect on the cross-direction stiffness of thePolyester Woven B fabric 130. Similarly, Table 3 shows an approximate 5times greater effect on the machine-direction stiffness than the effecton the cross-direction stiffness of the Polyester Woven C fabric 130. Incontrast as shown in Table 1 above, use of conventional backingmaterials, such as 20 gsm 100% polyester Unitika spun bound nonwoven,Hollingsworth & Vose 17 gsm 100% polyester smooth calendered nonwoven(5-pressure), and Hollingsworth & Vose 17 gsm 100% polyester smoothcalendered nonwoven (10-pressure), increases both the machine-directionstiffness and the cross-direction stiffness of the vane 110 without theselective bias towards significantly increasing only themachine-direction stiffness while only slightly affecting (increasing ordecreasing) the cross-direction stiffness of the vane 110 as with thebacking material 132 of the present disclosure. As can be seen in Tables1-3, use of the backing material 132 increases the stiffness of the vane110 in its machine direction MD while maintaining the flexibility of thevane 110 in its cross direction XD, unlike use of conventional backingmaterials as shown in Table 1. As illustrated in Tables 1 and 2, forfabrics 130 having a stiffness ratio less than 1:1, the backing material132 may be operable to “flip” the stiffness ratio by significantlyincreasing machine-direction stiffness while marginally affectingcross-direction stiffness, or vice-versa. Thus, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, strength and/or stiffnessdeficiencies of the fabric 130 can be overcome through application ofthe backing material 132 to the fabric 130.

As indicated by the tables above, a backing material 132 can be selectedso as to influence the stiffness properties of the fabric in a mannerdesired for a particular application. In general, the backing material,when applied to a fabric, can increase the stiffness of the fabric in afirst direction by greater than about 2 times, such as greater thanabout 3 times, such as greater than about 4 times, such as even greaterthan about 5 times the original stiffness of the fabric. In contrast,the stiffness in the second direction can remain substantiallyunaffected. For instance, applying the backing material to the fabriccan increase the stiffness in the second direction by less than about 2times, such as less than about 1.5 times, such as less than about 1times, such as less than about 0.5 times the original stiffness of thefabric. In addition, as described above, the stiffness ratio of thefabric after the backing material is applied can increase at least about1.5 times greater, such as at least about 2 times greater, such as atleast about 2.5 times greater, such as at least about 3 times greater,such as at least about 3.5 times greater, such as at least about 4 timesgreater, such as at least about 4.5 times greater, such as at leastabout 5 times greater, such as at least about 5.5 times greater, such asat least about 6 times greater than the original stiffness ratio of thefabric. The stiffness ratio is generally increased less than 50 timesgreater, such as less than about 40 times greater, such as less thanabout 30 times greater, such as less than about 20 times greater thanthe original stiffness ratio of the fabric.

With continued reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, depending on the physicalcharacteristics of the fabric 130, the backing material 132 may beselected and/or the properties of the backing material 132 may betailored to produce a variety of vanes 110 that behave similarly in thecovering 100. For example, through targeted selection of respectivebacking materials 132, a variety of fabrics 130 each having differentphysical characteristics may be used to produce respective vanes 110that have similar properties (e.g., weight, machine-direction stiffness,cross-direction stiffness). Thus, fabrics 130 not having desiredstiffness characteristics alone may be used for a particular purpose(e.g., any of a variety of shades 106 or vanes 110 with differentbending and/or draping requirements) by application of the backingmaterial 132 thereto to achieve the desired stiffness of the resultingvane laminate to suit the needs of a particular end use. In theembodiments described herein, the backing material 132 may modify thebending and draping characteristics of the fabric 130 without otherwisesignificantly affecting other properties of the fabric 130, such as butnot limited to thickness, basis weight, and/or the opacity of the fabric130.

With reference to FIG. 5, the fabric 130 includes a machine directionMD_(VF) and a cross direction XD_(VF). Similarly, the backing material132 includes a machine direction MD_(BF) and a cross direction XD_(BF).As shown, the respective machine directions MD_(VF), MD_(BF) of thefabric 130 and the backing material 132 extend parallel to each otherand parallel to the machine direction MD of the vane 110. Similarly, therespective cross directions XD_(VF), XD_(BF) of the fabric 130 and thebacking material 132 extend parallel to each other and parallel to thecross direction XD of the vane 110. In an alternative embodiment,however, the machine direction of the fabric 130 and the machinedirection of the backing material 132 may be arranged perpendicular toeach other depending upon the construction of the different fabricmaterials. Similarly, the cross direction of the fabric may beperpendicular to the cross direction of the backing material. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 5, the backing material 132 may be sizedidentically to the fabric 130. In some embodiments, the fabric 130 mayhave relatively greater dimensions such that an upper portion and/or abottom portion of the fabric 130 may be folded over the backing material132 toward the support sheet 108 to respectively form the upper andlower tabs 122, 124 and the upper and lower creases 126, 128 of the vane110 (see FIG. 2). In such embodiments, the adhesive 134 may facilitatein setting and/or holding at least one of the upper and lower creases126, 128. Additionally or alternatively, the backing material 132 mayhelp achieve better fold or crease retention in the vane 110. Also, whenthe backing material 132 is applied to the fabric 130, the vane 110 maybe more easily scored and bent.

The relative dimensions of the fabric 130, the layer of adhesive 134,and the backing material 132 are exaggerated in FIG. 5 for illustrativepurposes. In practice, the layer of adhesive 134 and the backingmaterial 132 add limited thickness and weight to the fabric 130,although the thickness and weight of the adhesive 134 and the backingmaterial 132 may be tailored to achieve a desired aesthetic and/orstrength characteristic. For example, in an illustrative embodiment, thelayer of adhesive 134 and the backing material 132 contribute about 10to about 30 grams per square meter in weight and/or add between about0.02 and about 0.06 mm in thickness to the vane 110. Also, although theadhesive 134 is shown as a substantial layer in FIG. 5, the adhesive 134may be less substantial in practice and appear thin like a web ofinterconnected adhesive fibers or a dot coated hot melt adhesive.

FIG. 6 is a comparative view of illustrative embodiments of a vane 110Ahaving a backing material 132 and a vane 110B without a backing material132. Without the backing material 132, the vane 110B may “pucker” tocreate irregularities in surface contour and topography (e.g., creatingripples 120). This “puckering” transmits to the finished vane 110 and isvisible in use. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the backing material 132reduces the amount of “puckering” within the vane 110 by stabilizing thefabric 130 in at least one direction (e.g., its machine directionMD_(VF)). For example, the backing material 132 is operable to preventstretching of the fabric 130 in the least one direction (e.g., itsmachine direction MD_(VF)). As illustrated in FIG. 6, the backingmaterial 132 causes the fabric 130 to lie flat against, for example, awork surface 136 as shown in FIG. 6 or against the support sheet 108 inoperation. As a result, a consistent, preferably smooth, appearance isachieved without adversely affecting the “feel” and the look of thefabric 130 or its function during operation, at least from a front sideview of the vane 110. In some embodiments, the backing material 132, andin particular the fibers of the backing material 132, is not visible toa user when the vane 110 is implemented in the shade 106 even underbacklighting conditions.

In one embodiment, for instance, a backing material is selected thatdoes not significantly impact the opacity of the fabric 130.Consequently, in one embodiment, the backing material can advantageouslyinfluence the stiffness of the fabric 130 without significantlyimpacting the light transmission properties of the fabric. For example,in certain embodiments, a backing material can be selected thatincreases the opacity of the fabric 130 by no more than about 35%, suchas no more than about 30%, such as no more than about 25%, such as nomore than about 20%, such as no more than about 15%, such as no morethan about 13%, such as no more than about 10%, such as no more thanabout 8%. The opacity of materials can be measured using an XRITEDensitometer Opacity Tester manufactured by X-Rite, Inc. of Grandville,Mich. The above instrument measures density which can be converted toopacity (%). The above instrument measures a density from 0 to 5 with 0representing 0% opacity and 5 representing approximately 100% opacity.In the above embodiments, the density (opacity) of the fabric 130 priorto being combined with the backing material 132 can be from about 0.2 toabout 2, such as from about 0.3 to about 1.8, such as from about 0.5 toabout 1.5.

In an alternative embodiment, a backing material can be selected thatsubstantially blocks all light from transmitting through the laminateafter the backing material is attached to the fabric 130. For example,the backing material 132 and the fabric 130 can form a laminate having adensity (opacity) of greater than about 4, such as greater than about4.5, such as greater than about 4.8. When selecting a backing materialfor blocking out light, the backing material may have a relatively highbasis weight. For instance, the basis weight of the backing material maybe greater than about 20 gsm, such as greater than about 30 gsm, such asgreater than about 40 gsm, such as greater than about 50 gsm, such asgreater than about 60 gsm. The basis weight of the backing material isgenerally less than about 150 gsm.

In addition to influencing stiffness, it was also discovered that thebacking material of the present disclosure can also have a significantand unexpected impact on the elongation properties of the fabric 130. Ofparticular advantage, the backing material of the present disclosure canhave a significant impact on the stiffness ratio of the fabric and theelongation properties of the fabric while only marginally impactingopacity. As described above, the opacity of the fabric may increase byno more than about 35%, such as no more than about 15%, such as even nomore than about 10%. For example, in the direction that stiffnessincreases, the backing material when applied to the fabric can decreasethe elongation of the fabric by greater than about 20%, such as greaterthan about 25%, such as greater than about 30%, such as even greaterthan about 35%. The elongation is generally decreased in an amount up toabout 100%, such as up to about 80%. Decreasing the elongation of thefabric in the direction that stiffness increases as described above candramatically and unexpectedly improve the handling and drapecharacteristics of the resulting material and significantly improve themanufacturing versatility and durability of the composite material. Theabove changes can be made to elongation using the backing material whileagain only marginally affecting opacity.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of an illustrative embodiment of a method ofmanufacturing the vane 110 in accordance with principles of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the fabric 130 and the backing material132 are bonded together in a flatbed laminator 138 to create a laminatedfabric assembly 140, which is alternatively referred to as a “fabriclaminate” and is subsequently formed into the vane 110. Although FIG. 7illustrates a flatbed laminator 138, other machines can be used tocreate the laminated fabric assembly 140 to similar effect, such ascalenders and drum machines. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 7,the fabric 130 is wound on a first spool 142 and the backing material132 is wound on a second spool 144. The first spool 142 and the secondspool 144 reside and rotate within a common plane in a spacedrelationship such that the fabric 130 and the backing material 132extend from the respective spools 142, 144 in substantial or coextensivealignment. An alignment mechanism 146 for verifying the alignment of thefabric 130 and the backing material 132 is also shown in FIG. 7. In someembodiments, the alignment mechanism 146 fine-tunes the alignment of thefabric 130 and the backing material 132 before the two fabrics 130, 132are permanently bonded together. Before entering the flatbed laminator138, the adhesive 134 is applied to one side of at least one of thebacking material 132 and the fabric 130. For example, the adhesive 134may be melt blown or otherwise applied onto the backing material 132 asthe backing material 132 is unrolled from the second spool 144. In someembodiments, the backing material 132 is wound onto the second spool 144with the adhesive 134 pre-applied to the backing material 132 for lateractivation. Additionally or alternatively, the adhesive 134 may take theform of a web adhesive wound on a third spool, which may reside androtate within the common plane of, and in a spaced relationship with,the first spool 142 and the second spool 144. In such embodiments, thefabric 130, the backing material 132, and the web adhesive may extendfrom the respective spools 142, 144 in substantial or coextensivealignment, with the web adhesive positioned between the fabric 130 andthe backing material 132.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, the backing material 132 islaminated to one side of the fabric 130 using heat and/or pressureapplied by the flatbed laminator 138. For instance, the flatbedlaminator 138 may include a heating platen assembly 148 to heat set theadhesive 134 applied between the fabric 130 and the backing material132. As shown in FIG. 7, the heating platen assembly 148 includes anupper platen 150 and a lower platen 152 maintained at a high temperaturebetween about 300° F. and about 350° F. (e.g., about 325° F.) such thatas the fabric 130 and the backing material 132 are passed therebetween,the adhesive 134 is activated to bond the two fabrics 130, 132 together.Each of the upper platen 150 and the lower platen 152 includes apressure surface 154 that is generally rectangular in shape and islonger than it is wide. In some embodiments, the upper platen 150 andthe lower platen 152 press the fabrics 130, 132 together to consistentlybond the backing material 132 to the fabric 130. For instance, each ofthe upper platen 150 and the lower platen 152 may apply a pressure ofbetween about 2.5 psi and about 25 psi (e.g., approximately 5 psi) tothe fabric assembly 140. The heat and pressure settings described aboveare for illustration purposes. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 7,the stiffness of the fabric assembly 140 may be tailored by adjustingthe heat and/or pressure settings of the heating platen assembly 148.

After passing through the heating platen assembly 148, the fabricassembly 140 may pass through a cooling platen assembly 156 to reducethe temperature of the fabric assembly 140 for later processing (e.g.,to room temperature). Similar to the heating platen assembly 148, thecooling platen assembly 156 includes an upper chilling platen 158 and alower chilling platen 160, each of which applying a pressure to thefabric assembly 140 passing therebetween (e.g., approximately 5 psi) andincluding a pressure surface 162 that is generally rectangular in shapeand is longer than it is wide. Each of the upper chilling platen 158 andthe lower chilling platen 160 are water cooled to maintain the reducedtemperature of the cooling platen assembly 156. For example, coolingwater passes through the upper chilling platen 158 and the lowerchilling platen 160 at a temperature between about 52° F. and about 58°F. (e.g., about 54° F.). In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7, thefabric 130 and the backing material 132 are continuously passed throughthe heating platen assembly 148 and/or the cooling platen assembly 156by one or more conveyors 164 running between about 15 and about 20 feetper minute (e.g., about 18.5 fpm). After passing through the flatbedlaminator 138, the fabric assembly 140 may undergo further processing,such as but not limited to, cutting the fabric assembly 140 to desiredlength for particular applications or products.

Although FIGS. 1-7 illustrate the backing material 132 associated withan operable vane 110 selectively attached to a support sheet 108, thebacking material 132 of the present disclosure can be utilized ondifferent vane structures where bending along one axis while havingstiffness along the axis is desired. For example, the backing material132 may be applied to vertical vane structures, roller shades, and/orvane structures attached to and extending between two vertically orhorizontally extending sheets of material to create either a vane orshade structure that has a consistent, preferably smooth, appearancethroughout due at least in part to increased stiffness in a desireddirection (e.g., in a machine direction and/or in a cross direction ofthe vane or shade structure).

The foregoing description has broad application. It should beappreciated that the concepts disclosed herein may apply to many typesof shades, in addition to the shades described and depicted herein. Forexample, the concepts may apply equally to Roman-type shades, honeycombshades, vertical shades, or any other shade having an elongated vanethat needs to bend along its width or height. The discussion of anyembodiment is meant only to be explanatory and is not intended tosuggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, islimited to these embodiments. In other words, while illustrativeembodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail herein, itis to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwisevariously embodied and employed, and that the appended claims areintended to be construed to include such variations, except as limitedby the prior art.

The present disclosure may be better understood with respect to thefollowing further examples.

EXAMPLES Example 1

Physical properties of backed and unbacked fabric samples were tested.Face fabrics from three different rolls were tested. Each roll was madefrom a 175 gsm, 100% polyester jacquard weave fabric. Backing fabricsused were a MILIFE oriented nonwoven having a basis weight of 10 gsm anda MILIFE oriented nonwoven having a basis weight of 15 gsm.

Machine-direction and cross-direction stiffness were tested using aHandle-O-Meter, available from Thwing-Albert Instrument Co. ofPhiladelphia, Pa. Five machine-machine direction and fivecross-direction tests were performed using samples from each roll. Theaverage stiffness of the five machine-direction samples and fivecross-direction samples tested for each roll is reported in Table 4. Thetests were run according to ASTM D2923.

Machine-direction and cross-direction elongation were measured using anInstron 5969 Tensile Tester. Five machine-machine direction and fivecross-direction tests were performed using samples from each roll. Thesample test size was 2.0″×5.0″, the crosshead speed was 1.5 in/min, theforce exerted on the specimen was 5 lbf, and the grip distance was 3.0″.The average elongations of the five machine-direction samples and fivecross-direction samples tested for each roll are reported in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Roll 1 Roll 2 Roll 3 Face Face Face Fabric + Fabric + Fabric +Face Backing % Face Backing % Face Backing % Fabric Fabric Change FabricFabric Change Fabric Fabric Change Alone 10 gsm — Alone 10 gsm — Alone15 gsm — MD/Warp 10 74.7 647 9.1 75.2 726 10.5 87.9 737 DirectionStiffness (gram-force) CD/Weft 32.8 35.2 7 35.1 39.1 11 40.9 50.2 23Direction Stiffness (gram-force) MD 76 47.4 −38 80.4 48.8 −39 68.6 34.9−49 Elongation (% stretch) CD 49.3 41.7 −15 — — — 31.4 37.5 19Elongation (% stretch) Thickness 0.0123 0.0141 15 0.0129 0.0146 130.0123 0.0141 15 (in)

Example 2

The effect of the backing fabric on opacity was tested. Face fabricsfrom Example 1 were tested for opacity alone and with a MILIFE 10 gsmoriented nonwoven backing fabric. Face fabric from roll 1 had a beigecolor and face fabric from roll 2 had a dark brown color. Five testswere run for each sample. The average optical density of the fivesamples is shown in Table 5. The tests were run using an XriteDensitometer Opacity Tester having a 3 mm aperture. The X-RiteDensitometer, made by X-Rite, Inc. of Grandville, Mich., was used tomeasure visible light transmittance/opacity. This machine measured overa range of about 400-750 nm, and may be considered to provide a moreaccurate measurement of human visible light transmittance thanmeasurements taken at a single visible light wavelength.

TABLE 5 Roll 1 (beige) Roll 2 (dark brown) Face Face Face Fabric + %Face Fabric + % Fabric Backing Change Fabric Backing Change Alone Fabric— Alone Fabric — Opacity 0.59 0.63 7 1.18 1.33 13 (optical density)

The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description and is not intended to limit the disclosure to the formor forms disclosed herein. For example, various features of thedisclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, orconfigurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. However,it should be understood that various features of the certain aspects,embodiments, or configurations of the disclosure may be combined inalternate aspects, embodiments, or configurations. Moreover, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Descriptionby this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment of the present disclosure.

The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or”, as used herein,are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive inoperation. The term “a” or “an” entity, as used herein, refers to one ormore of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and“at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. All directionalreferences (e.g., proximal, distal, upper, lower, upward, downward,left, right, lateral, longitudinal, front, back, top, bottom, above,below, vertical, horizontal, radial, axial, clockwise, andcounterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid thereader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not createlimitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use ofthis disclosure. Connection references (e.g., attached, coupled,connected, and joined) are to be construed broadly and may includeintermediate members between a collection of elements and relativemovement between elements unless otherwise indicated. As such,connection references do not necessarily infer that two elements aredirectly connected and in fixed relation to each other. Identificationreferences (e.g., primary, secondary, first, second, third, fourth,etc.) are not intended to connote importance or priority, but are usedto distinguish one feature from another. The drawings are for purposesof illustration only and the dimensions, positions, order and relativesizes reflected in the drawings attached hereto may vary.

1-41. (canceled)
 42. A fabric laminate for an architectural covering,the fabric laminate comprising: a fabric material portion having a firststiffness in a first direction, and a second stiffness in a seconddirection transverse to said first direction; and a backing materialportion adhesively bonded to said fabric material portion such that saidbacking material portion and said fabric material portion form discretelayers of the fabric laminate, wherein said backing material portionincreases said first stiffness, said backing material portion increasingsaid second stiffness less than said first stiffness so as to increase astiffness ratio between said first stiffness and said second stiffness;wherein: said backing material portion comprises a plurality of fibersor filaments oriented substantially along said first direction; and saidbacking material portion has a basis weight of less than 20 grams persquare meter (gsm).
 43. A fabric laminate according to claim 42,wherein: said first direction extends along a machine direction of saidfabric material portion; and said second direction extends along a crossdirection of said fabric material portion.
 44. A fabric laminateaccording to claim 42, wherein: said fabric material portion has a firststiffness ratio biased in one of said first direction or said seconddirection; and said backing material portion causes said fabric laminateto have a second stiffness ratio biased in the other of said firstdirection or said second direction.
 45. A fabric laminate according toclaim 42, wherein said stiffness ratio is greater than approximately1.5:1.
 46. A fabric laminate according to claim 42, wherein said backingmaterial portion comprises a non-woven web.
 47. A fabric laminateaccording to claim 46, wherein said nonwoven web comprises a spunbondweb, a meltblown web, a carded web, a hydroentangled web, an airlaidweb, a wetlaid web, or a coform web.
 48. A fabric laminate according toclaim 42, wherein said backing material portion comprises a wovenmaterial.
 49. A fabric laminate according to claim 42, wherein saidbacking material portion has a basis weight of less than 17 gsm.
 50. Afabric laminate according to claim 42, wherein said fabric materialportion has an elongation in said first direction and wherein saidbacking material portion bonded to said fabric material portiondecreases said elongation in said first direction at least about 20%.51. A fabric laminate according to claim 42, wherein the backingmaterial portion bonded to said fabric material portion increases anopacity of said fabric material portion by less than about 30%.
 52. Afabric laminate according to claim 51, wherein said fabric materialportion has an optical density (opacity) of from about 0.2 to about 2.53. A fabric laminate according to claim 42, wherein said fabricmaterial portion comprises one of a woven material, a non-wovenmaterial, or a knit material.
 54. A fabric laminate for an architecturalcovering, the fabric laminate comprising: an outer material having afirst stiffness in a first direction, and a second stiffness in a seconddirection transverse to said first direction; and a backing materialportion formed directly on said outer material, said backing materialportion comprising a plurality of substantially unidirectionallyoriented fibers or filaments applied directly on a surface of said outermaterial, said backing material portion having a basis weight of lessthan 20 grams per square meter (gsm); wherein said backing materialportion increases said first stiffness, said backing material portionincreasing said second stiffness less than said first stiffness so as toincrease a stiffness ratio between said first stiffness and said secondstiffness.
 55. A fabric laminate according to claim 54, wherein: saidfirst direction extends along a machine direction of said outermaterial; and said second direction extends along a cross direction ofsaid outer material.
 56. A fabric laminate according to claim 54,wherein: said outer material has a first stiffness ratio biased in oneof said first direction or said second direction; and said backingmaterial portion causes said fabric laminate to have a second stiffnessratio biased in the other of said first direction or said seconddirection.
 57. A fabric laminate according to claim 54, wherein saidstiffness ratio is greater than approximately 1.5:1.
 58. A fabriclaminate according to claim 54, wherein said backing material portionincreases the first stiffness in the first direction at least about 1.5times greater than an effect on said second stiffness in said seconddirection.
 59. A fabric laminate according to claim 54, wherein saidbacking material portion comprises a non-woven web formed directly onsaid outer material,
 60. A fabric laminate according to claim 54,wherein said outer material comprises one of a woven material, anon-woven material, or a knit material.
 61. A fabric laminate accordingto claim 54, wherein said backing material portion has a basis weight ofless than 15 gsm.